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Monique Formarier has said many times that there is great potential for nurses to carry out research, there are untold avenues to explore, it is a profession with a hundred facets where each person can express himself in his chosen field provided that he has the qualifications to enable them to progress. There is great scope in this field. But nursing research is so under-developed in France that at this level all subjects would be welcome.
However it would be advisable to concentrate on four main lines of research.
1. Teaching models
The lack of academic disposition comes from the teaching (Formarier – 89). Consideration should be given to arousing the intellectual curiosity of young people, working out how trainee nurses can learn and how the basics of the scientific approach can be taught to management. Studies have already been undertaken abroad but work on the subject should be started in France.
2. Evidence-based nursing
A major challenge is to demonstrate the effectiveness of nursing care, which also means bringing research closer to practice. There is considerable interest in the concept of evidence-based nursing, developed by the epidemiologist, Cochrane. But there is still a long way to go. The approach is related to the effectiveness of care or effects based on randomised clinical trials.
This approach is not well known to nurses in France. It can also be used to evaluate quantitative studies that are rarely carried out in our field.
3. Care for the elderly
It is undeniable that the elderly are a group of the population at risk – the risks being frequent, unpredictable and changeable. Ways must be explored to develop new approaches: limit discomfort (for example, constipation), limit risks (for example, falls), encourage support (family helpers).
Many nurses applying to take PhDs wish to work on subjects relating to the elderly and we have asked these applicants to suggest specific subjects.
4. The nursing work environment
This theme was the main topic of the ICN in 2007. Interest in this subject arose from the world-wide shortage of nurses, the reasons for this shortage being many and complex. Some environments are poor, reducing the effectiveness of the nurses. Other environments, however, favour excellence at work, attracting nurses who stay in these posts. A major effort must be made to understand, in France, the importance of the environment, the adverse effects it may have and the aspects that are favourable to nursing practice.
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